Gabriel Medina and Evan Geiselman prevail in Round 1 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing
The surfing action continued at Huntington Beach in California, America, with the third and fourth heat of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing’s round of 96 (Round 1) on Tuesday, August 2.
The third heat saw Brazil’s Gabriel Medina dominate the four-man battle to earn his place in the next round. Hawaii’s Kekoa Bacalso managed to survive the heat as well, finishing in runner-up place to advance to the round of 48 (Round 2). America’s Cory
Lopez and Australia’s Adam Robertson made an early exit from the competition after rounding out the third and fourth position respectively.
America’s Evan Geiselman clinched victory in the fourth heat, while Australia’s Blake Thornton took second place to go through to the round of 48. French Polynesia’s Michel Bourez and South Africa’s Travis Logie finished third and fourth respectively, consequently
getting eliminated from the event.
As the third heat kicked off, the 17-year-old Medina immediately stole the show with his aerial surfing and progressive turns on the one-to-three foot waves that were gracing the event site on Tuesday morning.
Almost halfway through the heat, Medina locked a wave to unleash a combination of impressive manoeuvres, earning 8.60 points off it. Collecting an additional 8.07 off his second wave, he finished with a heat-total of 16.67 points, which eventually carried
him off to victory.
Talking to a reporter after his remarkable performance, Medina said, “That was a tough heat. It’s kind of hard to get a good one, but I got two 8s and I made it, so I’m stoked.”
Hawaii’s Bacalso came up with an impressive performance as well, collecting 8.00 points off his first business-wave and 7.07 points off his second. However, a rampaging Medina proved too much for him, so he settled for second position.
Catching a couple of sevens, Lopez failed to make the Round 2 cut due to a third-place finish. Australia’s Robertson rounded out the fourth position after finishing with a two-wave total of 11.63 points.
The fourth heat saw Florida’s 17-year-old Nike US Open of Surfing Wildcard, Geiselman, triumph over the likes of Bourez, Thornton and Logie to advance to the next round. He collected 5.77 points off his first wave and 6.60 points off his second to finish
with a heat-total of 12.37 points.
During his post-heat interview, Geiselman said, “I lost my Junior heat and I’m just stoked to have another chance in the main event. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week and I’m having fun out here. The more heats I get to surf out here the better,
I love it.”
Thornton managed to extend his life in the competition by clinching the runner-up position, scoring 5.67 and 5.60 points from his two best waves.
Elite Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) surfer, Bourez, failed to do justice to his repute and ended up getting eliminated after finishing in third place with a heat-total of 10.07.
South Africa’s Logie remained the least impressive of the lot, earning a combined-total of 5.70 points, to round out the fourth position.
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